Zambeef’s Zamloaf ‘selling like hot-cakes’

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – ‘Fresh, hot and soft’ is how Zambeef’s Mtendere Macro outlet customers will be served their daily bread with the re-opening of a pilot Zamloaf outlet.

The food nation’s largest processor and retailer – motto: feeding the nation – is using the latest precision baking techniques to make the finest bread in Mtendere, using local wheat from its Zambian farms.

“Zambeef is big on value addition that is aimed at closing the gap between the primary production of local produce and food processing, so we have taken this step to further process our wheat into bread,” explained Zambeef Head of Retail and Marketing Felix Lupindula.

The bread has been selling like hot-cakes to customers in the area, with close to a thousand loaves being sold daily at K6.5 a loaf.

Bakery Supervisor for Zamloaf Mtendere, Masaninga Msanzika, is in charge of ensuring that only the best quality bread makes it to the shelves, with each batch undergoing meticulous quality checks at every stage of the baking process.

Precision baking is very important in maintaining the quality of the end product, especially when done on a commercial basis, with temperature and time among the top factors to take into consideration.

“There are so many bakeries out there that are making bread but it’s a matter of how you are making it and the ingredients you are using to make that bread. I monitor each and every process; I check the temperature at each and every step; I check the temperature of the water; I check the temperature for the door, the room temperature and the measurements on the machines,” said Mr Msanzika.

“It’s very relevant actually if you want to maintain the quality, it’s very important because if you just miss out on the temperature you lose out everything. These are the two important things in baking: temperature and time; they are very cardinal for us to have quality baked bread,” said Mr Msanzika.

Zambeef has one of Zambia’s largest irrigated row cropping operations principally producing maize, soya beans and wheat, which then feed into its stockfeed and milling operations. It plants approximately 16,500 hectares in summer and 8,000 hectares in winter.

Zambeef staff at Mtendere Macro pack Zamloaf bread ready for sale.

Zambeef staff at Mtendere Macro pack Zamloaf bread ready for sale.

About Zambeef Products Plc
Zambeef Products Plc is the largest integrated agribusiness and food processing company in Zambia and one of the largest in the region.

The group is principally involved in the production, processing, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, dairy products, eggs, stockfeed and flour. The group also has large row cropping operations (principally maize, soya beans and wheat), planting 16,500 hectares in summer and 8,000 hectares in winter. The group is also expanding its West Africa operations in Nigeria and Ghana.

The company slaughters around 70,000 beef cattle, 6.75 million chickens and 70,000 pigs per annum, while also processing 16 million litres of milk, producing 150,000 tons of stockfeed, 60 million eggs, 78,000 pairs of shoes and processes 97,500 hides in its tannery per year.

It has 187 retail outlets throughout Zambia and West Africa.

Zambeef employs over 6,500 people with a total of K307 million paid in remuneration and benefits in the last year, and contributed K144 million to Government in taxes and duties.